


Repentance

by HeliumStar



Series: Succumb [3]
Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Acceptance, Forgiveness, Gen, M/M, Murder, Repentance, kind of, they break the look, they realize they're both stuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 15:09:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16244213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeliumStar/pseuds/HeliumStar
Summary: "I can stop this whenever I want to.""Are you certain of that?" Stefano crosses his arms over his chest. "Not that it matters. I will not kill you again."Stefano is the first to come to his senses, realizing that what he is doing is not what he thought it was. He knows what he's doing is wrong and bad, and God forgive him how long has it been going on? One of them has to stop to break the evil cycle. Might as well be him.





	Repentance

**Author's Note:**

> Another one.
> 
> So I think I have one more in me, I'm not quite done with this little mini-series thing yet. Just one more. I promise, there will only be one more... of this anyway.

Sebastian's body falls to the floor with a thud. It is the only body in the room that isn't frozen. That isn't moving or isn't stuck in an infinite loop.

For a moment Stefano stares in confusion at what he's done.

It doesn't feel as good as it did before. It doesn't feel right any longer. The Sebastian before him is dead. There is no peace in Sebastian's eyes. No serenity. No rest. Only an empty void.

Nothing.

The confusion is quickly replaced by horror. Stefano feels his stomach turn, and he has to look away and cover his mouth with his hand to keep himself from vomiting.

He braces himself against the wall, pressing his forehead against the wallpaper that is still warm to the touch from where Sebastian has leaned against it.

Stefano pushes himself away from the wall and staggers back, disgusted and appalled.

"Cristo," he sputters as he squeezes his eyes shut. "What have I done?"

He can hear something stir to life in the next room. Footsteps walking towards the door and Stefano knows that it is Sebastian. "Ti prego di perdonarmi," Stefano whimpers. "Perdona i miei peccati."

He recoils when the door opens, and he sees Sebastian standing in the doorway.

Stefano feels invisible walls crumble around him. Hyper-aware, and now in a state of shock.

He can't do it. He can't kill Sebastian.

Not again.

Sebastian doesn't understand what is going on. He watches Stefano draw back before he has even entered the room. 

Without a word, Stefano disappears behind another wall and Sebastian can hear him gag and retch violently. He stands and listens to the coughing and silent sobs.

For a moment Sebastian stands bewildered. The door slowly closes behind him and he walks with hesitant steps towards the corner he saw Stefano disappear behind. He sees his own lifeless body just a few feet away. But unlike the other versions of himself in the room, this one is dead. Through and through.

Sebastian rounds the corner and finds Stefano hunched over, hands braced against the wall while his head hangs between them, bile and vomit covering the floor beneath him. Sebastian says nothing as he stands and watches Stefano's shoulders tremble.

"Ti prego, Dio, se me senti, ti supplico..." Stefano whimpers. "Perdona i miei peccati."

It dawns on Sebastian that Stefano is praying. Though Sebastian doesn't understand, Stefano is hysteric and is talking so fast Sebastian has no hope of ever understanding. Sebastian watches for a little longer, then he reaches out and places a hand on the praying man's shoulder.

Stefano exclaims a shout and pulls back. "Per favore," he sighs. "Please, allow me a moment."

Sebastian nods and lets Stefano catch his breath. "Forgive me, Sebastian. I never wished for things to become like they are," Stefano mumbles. "I never intended for this..." He continues in what Sebastian thinks is Italian but switches back after clearing his throat. "I see now, that it is I who am wrong, my dear Sebastian. I have done terrible things." He straightens himself and produces a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his mouth. He tosses the fabric to the floor when he’s done.

"No kidding." The words slip out of Sebastian's mouth easier than he thought they would. 

The snarky reply makes Stefano look up and give Sebastian a soft glare, to which Sebastian shrugs. 

"Blind," Stefano continues. "I have been blind to my actions. Unable to... to see what my art really is. It is I who have been closeminded. I am the one who needed to open my eye." He shakes his head and steps closer to Sebastian, running his hand down Sebastian's cheek. "I cannot be forgiven. Least of all of you, my dear."

Sebastian's brows sink onto a confused frown and he grabs Stefano's hand, pulling it away from his face. "What are you talking about? Did you snap when I was gone?"

"Snap?" Stefano can't help but laugh. "No, my love. I have seen the light."

"The light?"

"Yes." Stefano's eye glistens with what Sebastian thinks is hope. "This can't go on any longer. You must escape this wretched place. You must leave."

"What? Why?" Sebastian frowns and tries to remember but all he can remember is bits and pieces that don’t make sense together. Silver blades, camera flashes, warm hands, and cold steel.

"Do you remember why you are here, Sebastian?" Stefano asks. "What you came here to do? What you found me to do?"

There is a pause and Sebastian tries even harder to remember. His thoughts are muddled. There are a hundred and more memories of him and Stefano present in his mind, and it takes time before his daughter crosses his mind. "Lily."

"Yes. Lily," Stefano sighs. "You are looking for your daughter. Or at least you were before you got stuck here with me."

"Stuck..." Sebastian scratches the back of his head. "I'm not stuck I can... I can go on... whenever I want to," he tries to convince himself more than Stefano, who looks very doubtful. "I can stop this whenever I want to."

"Are you certain of that?" Stefano crosses his arms over his chest. "Not that it matters. I will not kill you again."

The words sound strange. Almost demented. But despite knowing that Stefano is doing him a favor, Sebastian feels a pang of disappointment in his chest. Why would Stefano suddenly refuse to do what he'd eagerly do mere minutes earlier? Why would he stop now? Anger starts to flare up within him but it is not enough to make him truly angry. 

"In any case, and as much as it pains me to say it... you really should be going," Stefano said. "It's time to break this evil cycle. Go. Find your daughter and leave."

"What about you?" Sebastian asks.

"Me?" Stefano thinks for a moment. "What about me? I am but a murderer it seems. I do not know what I will do. Perhaps I will stay and repent for my actions. Perhaps I will simply end." He turns away from Sebastian and smiles thoughtfully. "I have spent so much time capturing the death of others, I must admit, I am curious to experience it myself."

Sebastian frowns and grabs Stefano by the shoulder. "You're insane," he says, forcing the artist to turn around and face him. 

Stefano is still smiling softly. "Perhaps. But who isn't? Here in Union?"

Despite the fact that Stefano may well be right, Sebastian hesitates and watches Stefano with sad eyes. After a moment, Sebastian shakes his head to rid himself of cloudy thoughts.

"Come with me," he says. "Come with me. Help me find my daughter. Help us get out of here."

Stefano considers the offer. He certainly could help if he really wanted to. 

He doesn’t feel as constricted as he did before. He can’t feel the mental tendrils Father Theodore once had wrapped around him. Stefano feels liberated, like a new man… or perhaps a little bit like the man he once was.

"I will help," Stefano says with a nod. "I will follow you through Union, and face its dangers by your side."

The promise is grand and a bit presumptuous but Sebastian will not turn away the help.

Stefano’s smile fades slowly. Suddenly, there is something very different about and him. He looks at Sebastian and forces another smile that lasts but a second. “I will help.” Stefano averts his gaze. “There is, however, something I must do.”

Sebastian watches him stand still for a handful of seconds before walking over to the table where he’s stored his camera and the shiny dagger Sebastian finds himself a little too familiar with.

Stefano picks the camera up and eyes it lovingly, running his finger along the lens and smiling to himself as he aims it at the wall on the other side of the room. He doesn’t snap a picture and lowers the camera again. 

Without a word or warning, he throws the camera into the ground, smashing it. He raises his foot and stomps on the already broken camera, ensuring its destruction. Sebastian watches but says nothing.

“Merda,” Stefano mutters as he kicks the remains of the camera aside.

Sebastian crosses his arms over his chest. “Are you done?”

“Yes,” Stefano says and looks over at him. He looks relieved, and if Sebastian didn’t know better, he’d say that Stefano was glowing. Not the ominous cold glow Sebastian had seen before, but a new, warmer light. Like a candle in the dark. “I am quite done,” Stefano says and steps over to the table and grabs his dagger. “I will follow you.” He looks at Sebastian, who nods firmly.

“Good,” Sebastian says. “Now, let’s go and get my daughter.”

  
  



End file.
